Programming Chamberlain/Liftmaster/Craftsman Remote and Keypad/keyless entry

The first thing you will need to do before you buy an extra remote or keypad from a retail hardware store is to locate the manufacture date stamped on your opener. Almost always will be found behind the light cover. Some light covers will just pull down without having to remove them and some will require a screwdriver to remove screws to get the light cover it to come off it will be visible. There are sometimes two different tags on Liftmaster Chamberlain brand openers one is for the model number and serial number and the other would be the part number for the logic board or receiver board. The easiest way to tell the difference is that the receiver board or control panel will have a FCC number on it and this is for the Federal Communications Commission. Once you have found the tag that says model number and serial number you will also see the manufacture date and it is usually only two digits for example 98 would be 1998 and 04 would be 2004. Now that you have found the manufacture date you will need to know this because if your opener was manufactured before 1993 or from 93 to present then you will have to get a different kind of remote. If you want to order online directly from Liftmaster or another website that has the type of remote you need you will need to take down the model number also so you can get the correct remote. If you can find a 800 series remote these model numbers will An 8. For example the 3-button premium remote would be an 895 or the small keychain remote will be an 890. And the keyless entry or keypad would be an 877 model number.

800 series remotes

All of these 800 series remotes will work with all Chamberlain Liftmaster openers manufactured from 1993 to present. If you’re m date is pre 1993 then you will have 2 find either a universal remote or if possible the actual remote that came with that opener when it was manufactured. Chamberlain Liftmaster is starting to phase out all the older remote models because the new models will cover from 1993 to present. This just makes it easier for the manufacturer and also the customer. If you have to use a universal style remote then you should go to Lowes or Home Depot and purchase a Chamberlain universal remote which is commonly called clicker on the package. The good thing about the clicker universal remotes and keypads is that they work with a vast variety of different opener manufacturers and they will cover all openers made by Chamberlain,Liftmaster or craftsman pre 1993 and all the way to the present. This will eliminate trying to identify part numbers and finding the correct remote for the manufacture date that you have. I will give you instructions on both the standard Chamberlain Liftmaster remote and the clicker universal remotes because they are different.

Compatible Remotes, Keypads with Learn Button Color:

Green Learn Button: The green learn button represents billion code technology. Here are the compatible remotes and keyless entry model numbers.

Remotes: 81LM (1 button), 82LM (2 button), 83LM (3 button), 84LM (4 button), 890MAX (mini keyring remote), 893MAX (3 button), 895MAX (3 button), 375LM(universal), Clicker Universal model# KLIK1U

Keyless Entry: 66LM, 877MAX, 387LM(universal), Clicker Universal model# KLIK2U

Model numbers with green learn button: 1000, 1000E, 1000SD, 1000SDC-R, 1000SDR, 1000SDC, 2000SDC-R, 2000, 2000E, 2000SD, 2100

Red/Orange Learn Button: The Orange/Red learn button represents Security+ Rolling Code Technology. Here are the compatible remote and keyless entry Model numbers.

Remotes: 970LM (keychain remote), 971LM (1 button), 972LM (2 button), 973LM (3 button), 974LM (4 button), 892LT (2 button), 894LT (4 button), 893MAX (3 button), 895MAX (3 button), 375LM(universal), Clicker Universal model# KLIK1U

Keyless Entry: 977LM, 877MAX, 387LM(universal), Clicker Universal model# KLIK2U

Model numbers with Red/Orange learn button:

1200, 120ad,1210E FS2, 1215E FS2, 1215EM FS2, 1220E FS2, 1225E FS2, 1240R, 1245, 1245LMC-R, 1245R 1246R, 1250, 1255, 1255R, 1256, 1260, 1265, 1265-267, 1270, 1280, 182638, 182638D, 182638DM, 182649, 182649D, 182665, 182665D, 182671, 182671D, 2220, 2220-267, 2200 RGD, 2245, 2245C, 2255-2, 2255C, 2265, 2265C, 2267, 2280, 2280-267, 2280-976, 2280C, 248730, 248735, 248739, 248754, 2500,2500B, 2500BC, 2500C, 2500D, 2500DC, 2565, 2565C, 2575, 257856, 257858, 2580, 2580C, 2585, 2585C, 2595, 2595C, 2595LM, 3112, 3122, 3240, 349544, 4200C-2, 459950, 4620, 4620-2, 4640, 4640-2,4640-2K, 47995D, 547445, 6200, 6200-2, 6200-2K, 7220, 7320,7420, 7902, 7902K, 7902KD, 8200, 8200C, 9200, 9200-2K, 9500-3K, 985, 9902, 9902C, 9950, 9950D, 995XD, 9960, CG40, CG40CD, CG40CS, CG40D, CG40DM, CG40S, CG42CD, CG42CS, HD150DM, HD175DM,HD200D, HD400D, HD400DM, HD600, HD600DS, HD700D, HD700DS, HD800D, HD900CD, HD900D, HD900DS, LW2000, LW3000, LW500EV, M100, M150, M200, M50, M75, M700, ML750, MT60P, PD100, PD100C, PD200, PD200C, PD210, PD210C, PD210CD, PD210CS, PD210S, PD212, PD212CD, PD2125, PD300D, PD300DM, PD420, PD420-2, PD420D, PD422D, PD428D, PD432D, PD432DM, PD458D, PD460-2, PD460-2K, PD462D,PD505D,PD600, PD600C, PD610D, PD610S, PD612, PD612S, PD752, PD752CD, PD752CDS, PD752DS, PD752KLD, PD752KLDS, PD758D, PD758DS, PD758KD, PD758KDS, PD248735S, PD7520D, PD432D, PD7920KD, WD822C, WD822K, WD822KC, WD822KD, WD822KLD, WD822KLS, WD822KS, WD822KS, WD822KD, WD822KEV, WD912K, WD922KS, WD922K, WD922KC, WD922KCD, WD952KCD, WD952LD, WD962KD, WD962KEV, WD962KLD, WD962KPEV, WD962MLEV, WD248739.

Purple Learn Button: The purple learn button represents Security+ 315Mhz technology. Here are the compatable remote and keyless entry model numbers.

Remotes: 370LM (keychain remote), 371LM (1 button), 372LM (2 button), 373LM (3 button), 373P (3 button premium), 374LM (4 button), 893MAX (3 button), 895MAX (3 button). 892LT (2 button), 894LT (4 button), 375LM(universal), Clicker Universal model# KLIK1U

Keyless Entry: 377LM, 379LM-10 (Fingerprint keyless entry), 877MAX, 387LM(universal), Clicker Universal model# KLIK2U

Model numbers that have purple learn button:

1200, 120ad,1210E FS2, 1215E FS2, 1215EM FS2, 1220E FS2, 1225E FS2, 1240R, 1245, 1245LMC-R, 1245R 1246R, 1250, 1255, 1255R, 1256, 1260, 1265, 1265-267, 1270, 1280, 182638, 182638D, 182638DM, 182649, 182649D, 182665, 182665D, 182671, 182671D, 2220, 2220-267, 2200 RGD, 2245, 2245C, 2255-2, 2255C, 2265, 2265C, 2267, 2280, 2280-267, 2280-976, 2280C, 248730, 248735, 248739, 248754, 2500,2500B, 2500BC, 2500C, 2500D, 2500DC, 2565, 2565C, 2575, 257856, 257858, 2580, 2580C, 2585, 2585C, 2595, 2595C, 2595LM, 3112, 3122, 3240, 349544, 3800, 3800C, 3800E, 3800P, 3800PC, 3800PLD, 3840, 3850,3885,4200C-2, 459950, 4620, 4620-2, 4640, 4640-2,4640-2K, 47995D, 547445, 6200, 6200-2, 6200-2K, 7220, 7320,7420, 7902, 7902K, 7902KD, 8200, 8200C, 9200, 9200-2K, 9500-3K, 985, 9902, 9902C, 9950, 9950D, 995XD, 9960, CG40, CG40CD, CG40CS, CG40D, CG40DM, CG40S, CG42CD, CG42CS, HD150DM, HD175DM,HD200D, HD400D, HD400DM, HD600, HD600DS, HD700D, HD700DS, HD800D, HD900CD, HD900D, HD900DS, LW2000, LW3000, LW500EV, M100, M150, M200, M50, M75, M700, ML750, MT60P, PD100, PD100C, PD200, PD200C, PD210, PD210C, PD210CD, PD210CS, PD210S, PD212, PD212CD, PD2125, PD300D, PD300DM, PD420, PD420-2, PD420D, PD422D, PD428D, PD432D, PD432DM, PD458D, PD460-2, PD460-2K, PD462D,PD505D,PD600, PD600C, PD610D, PD610S, PD612, PD612S, PD752, PD752CD, PD752CDS, PD752DS, PD752KLD, PD752KLDS, PD758D, PD758DS, PD758KD, PD758KDS, PD248735S, PD7520D, PD432D, PD7920KD, WD822C, WD822K, WD822KC, WD822KD, WD822KLD, WD822KLS, WD822KS, WD822KS, WD822KD, WD822KEV, WD912K, WD922KS, WD922K, WD922KC, WD922KCD, WD952KCD, WD952LD, WD962KD, WD962KEV, WD962KLD, WD962KPEV, WD962MLEV, WD248739.

Yellow Learn Button: The Yellow learn button represents Secutity+ 2.0 technology. Here are the compatable remote and keyless entry model numbers.

Remotes: 891LM (1 button), 893LM (3 button), 890MAX (keychain Remote), 893MAX (3 button), 895MAX (3 button), 892LT (2 button), 894LT (4 button), PPV1, PPV3, PPK1, PPK1PH, PPK3, PPK3PH. 375LM(universal), Clicker Universal model# KLIK1U

Keyless Entry: 877LM, 877MAX, 387LM(universal), Clicker Universal model# KLIK2U

Model numbers that have a yellow learn button:

8500, 8550, 8587, 8557, 8360, 8355.

Instructions for programming standard Chamberlain Liftmaster remotes and keypads. Model # that these instructions will include models listed below.

1000, 1000E, 1000SD, 1000SDC-R, 1000SDR, 1000SDC, 2000SDC-R, 2000, 2000E, 2000SD, 2100, 1200, 120ad,1210E FS2, 1215E FS2, 1215EM FS2, 1220E FS2, 1225E FS2, 1240R, 1245, 1245LMC-R, 1245R 1246R, 1250, 1255, 1255R, 1256, 1260, 1265, 1265-267, 1270, 1280, 182638, 182638D, 182638DM, 182649, 182649D, 182665, 182665D, 182671, 182671D, 2220, 2220-267, 2200 RGD, 2245, 2245C, 2255-2, 2255C, 2265, 2265C, 2267, 2280, 2280-267, 2280-976, 2280C, 248730, 248735, 248739, 248754, 2500,2500B, 2500BC, 2500C, 2500D, 2500DC, 2565, 2565C, 2575, 257856, 257858, 2580, 2580C, 2585, 2585C, 2595, 2595C, 2595LM, 3112, 3122, 3240, 349544, 4200C-2, 459950, 4620, 4620-2, 4640, 4640-2,4640-2K, 47995D, 547445, 6200, 6200-2, 6200-2K, 7220, 7320,7420, 7902, 7902K, 7902KD, 8200, 8200C, 9200, 9200-2K, 9500-3K, 985, 9902, 9902C, 9950, 9950D, 995XD, 9960, CG40, CG40CD, CG40CS, CG40D, CG40DM, CG40S, CG42CD, CG42CS, HD150DM, HD175DM,HD200D, HD400D, HD400DM, HD600, HD600DS, HD700D, HD700DS, HD800D, HD900CD, HD900D, HD900DS, LW2000, LW3000, LW500EV, M100, M150, M200, M50, M75, M700, ML750, MT60P, PD100, PD100C, PD200, PD200C, PD210, PD210C, PD210CD, PD210CS, PD210S, PD212, PD212CD, PD2125, PD300D, PD300DM, PD420, PD420-2, PD420D, PD422D, PD428D, PD432D, PD432DM, PD458D, PD460-2, PD460-2K, PD462D,PD505D,PD600, PD600C, PD610D, PD610S, PD612, PD612S, PD752, PD752CD, PD752CDS, PD752DS, PD752KLD, PD752KLDS, PD758D, PD758DS, PD758KD, PD758KDS, PD248735S, PD7520D, PD432D, PD7920KD, WD822C, WD822K, WD822KC, WD822KD, WD822KLD, WD822KLS, WD822KS, WD822KS, WD822KD, WD822KEV, WD912K, WD922KS, WD922K, WD922KC, WD922KCD, WD952KCD, WD952LD, WD962KD, WD962KEV, WD962KLD, WD962KPEV, WD962MLEV, WD248739, 8500, 8550, 8587, 8557, 8360, 8355.

Hand held remotes:

these instructions cover all Liftmaster Chamberlain craftsman openers from 1993 to present. First you will need to locate the learn button this button almost all of the time is square and depending on the manufacturing date they will either be green orange red purple or sometimes in the older models and the brand new myQ Technology openers will have a round yellow button. If you have a lost or stolen remote and you are replacing it and want to erase all devices that were program to your opener and you will first need to erase all the codes. This is done by press and holding the learn button until the LED light goes out it should take about 6 seconds and then immediately press and hold the learn button one more time and that should do it for any old remote codes. Now to program the remote you will again need to press the learn button and the LED light will then come on now if your remote only has one button then you would hold that button down until the LED light goes out and the opener will flash its lights and click to let you know It accepted the code. If you have two or three buttons on your remote you will just have to repeat the process. If you have erased all the old codes then you will need to reprogram the remotes that you still have or may not have been lost or stolen because they will no longer work.

Keyless Entry:

These instructions for programming a keypad is for all Chamberlain Liftmaster and craftsman openers manufactured from 1993 to present. First you again need to locate the learn button on your garage door opener exactly like you did for the handheld remotes. Then you will need to think about a four digit code that you and your family can all remember easily and you should never use your address it would be the first code that A thief would use. Once you have your 4 digit code now you are ready to program the keypad it is easier with two people but it can be done with just one. First you will need to press the learn button once and then you will have about 30 seconds to go over to the keypad and punch in your 4 digit code and then you will have to press and hold the ENTER button until you hear the opener click and flash its lights. This Will let you know that the programming is complete.

Instructions for programming a Chamberlain Liftmaster or clicker brand Universal Remote:

Hand held universal remote

There are two different ways to program a universal remote the first and more common in older openers is the DIP switch. There are two different kinds of DIP switches the first is a 2 position DIP switch a 2 position DIP switch has a series of 12 switches and they are either on or off or up or down the other is a 3 position DIP switch and it usually has nine switches but it has three positions usually it is a plus sign on the top and a minus sign on the bottom and a circle in the middle so the circle means off or neutral. The other way to program a remote is with a smart or learn button more commonly on newer openers manufactured after 1990.

These instructions also include do-it, master mechanic, raynor, true value and Sears Craftsman are all brands of openers that are compatible with Chamberlain Liftmaster technology.

Smart or learn button programming:

First you must locate the smart or learn button on your Chamberlain Liftmaster or craftsman opener usually found on the back of the opener or behind a light cover. Once you have found the learn button then you will need to determine what color it is and then grab a pencil or pen and a piece of paper and write down the following number if the learn button is red or orange then write down the number 2 if the learn button is purple then write down the number 3 if the learn button is green then write down the number 4. You will need this number to program the remote properly. First you will need to slide the battery cover off of the front of the remote there you will see a program button it is the only one and it is small and when you press it a LED light will come on so you know that you have put remote in program mode. Now you will need to press the learn button on the opener then you will need to select one of the two buttons on the remote that you would like to use now you will need to press the selected remote button the proper number of times according to the color of the learn button this is the number I told you to write down so if you have a orange or red button you will need to press the remote button twice and if a purple learn button you would need to press button 3 times and if you had a green learn button then you would press the remote button 4 times. Remember not to press the remote buttons really fast just do it in a slow easy manner so that the opener will accept the code. When the opener unit has accepted the code it will click or flash its lights or both or sometimes will even activate the garage door itself now you know that the programming is complete the last thing you will have to do is to again press the program button on the remote one more time and the LED light will go off now you should be ready to use your remote.

DIP switch programming:

Model numbers that use dip switch programing:

1000, 1000E, 1000SD, 1000SDC-R, 1000SDR,1000SDC, 2000SDC-R, 2000, 2000E, 2000SD, 2100.

The first thing you must do is locate the manufactured date on your Chamberlain Liftmaster opener you will find the manufacture date along with the model number and serial number either on directly on the back of the opener or behind a light cover. Opener was manufactured between 1990 and 1992 and you will need to write down the number 11 if your was manufactured between 1983 in 1989 then you would write down the number 12. The next step would be to find v DIP switch receiver on your opener unit most of the time it is on the back or you will have to remove a light cover to access it it will be a series of tiny switches there will either be 12 or 9 and as far as Chamberlain goes it is usually a 9 position DIP switch. This means there are 9 different switches. Or if you have the old remote that you are trying to replace or add to and you know that remote still works or did before then you can get the DIP switch layout from the old remote also. If you cannot locate any DIP switches on your opener unit anywhere then you might have an external receiver box this is usually a small box and it will be wired to your opener and it will have an antenna or a small wire hanging out of it this is where you would find the DIP switch layout. You have located the DIP switch assembly then you will need to slide the front cover off of the handheld remote and you should see A bar of 12 DIP switches they are numbered 1 through 12 and on one side you will see the word ON and when the switch is in the ON position you have activated that switch. then you will need to slide the front cover off of the handheld remote and you should be able to see the row of 12 switches. These 12 switches will also have three positions they will be the up or on position and the down or OFF position and then there is a middle position or a neutral position Chamberlain products do not use the middle position so it is either up or all the way down. To program the handheld remote after you have to match the switch positions on the remote with the switch positions on the opener unit and the last three switches will not be used because Chamberlain products use a nine switches so the last three switches should be in the off position. Once you have matched up all the switch positions you need to press the program button until the LED light comes on and then you will need to press the desired button on the remote that you want to open the door either 11 or 12 times slowly. If the door does not activate after you have pressed the button 11 times then go ahead and press it one more time for 12. If this does not work then you might need to reverse the switch positions so for instance if a switch is in the ON position switch it to the off position and vice versa until all of this switches are opposite of what they used to be and then go through these steps again because sometimes you can’t tell on a DIP switch which end is up or down or on and off.

Programming universal Liftmaster/Clicker brand keypad:

Programming a keypad with smart or learn button technology:

First you must select a four digit PIN number that you and everyone in the household can remember easily and do not use your address it is the first number a thief would use to input to try and access your garage. Once you have selected a four digit PIN number write it down and keep it handy. The other number you will need to write down is a single digit number that represents the color of the learn button on your opener unit if you have a red or orange learn button and you will need to write down the number 2 if the learn button is purple then the number 3 if the learn button is green then the number 4. Will need these two numbers in the programming process. The first step in the programming is to press and hold the * and # keys together and then the keypad will start to flash and when it stops flashing you can let go of the keys. The next step is to enter the 4 digit PIN number that you previously determined and then press the # key then you would enter the single digit number that represents the color of the learn button and then press the # key now you will need to go to the opener unit and press the learn button now you will have to go back to the keypad and enter your 4 digit PIN and press the 0 key. To test and see if the programming was complete you will need to wait until the lights on the keypad go off and then you can enter your 4 digit PIN and press the 0 key if it does not activate the opener then you will have to start from the beginning and remember to press the buttons firmly and slowly to make sure that it registers every button that you push these keypads need to be pressed firmly to register what buttons you are pushing. If you cannot get the opener to respond at all to your programming then you can go online and find liftmasters customer service number and talk to a technician and they can walk you through the process over the phone and they can also determine if there is some other problem with the opening unit that will not allow it to take the code that you are trying to program. Liftmaster customer support service is always my last resort when I cannot figure out a problem with an opener.

Q: How to adjust the opening and closing force?

A: there are two different ways to adjust the opening and closing force on Chamberlain/ Liftmaster products depending on what model opener you have. The force adjustment allows you to control how much force that the opener will apply to the garage door on the up cycle and on the down cycle. The one thing you do not want to do when you are adjusting the force is to apply too much force or more that is needed to open and close the garage door. When you apply too much force to the garage door opener then it can have safety issues and or can damage your garage door in many ways. If you have to turn your force adjustment to the max level whether it would be for the closing or opening dan you most likely have a garage door issue and should be looked at by a professional. You may have too much tension on your garage door springs or not enough tension on your garage door springs no matter what kind of garage door you have whether it be a one piece or a sectional roll up garage door. All garage door openers have an emergency reverse this is a safety mechanism that reverses the garage door if it feels like it is hitting something and will safely reverse the garage door so not to do any damage this is also true when the garage door is going up. If you apply too much force to the down cycle then it is going to be harder for the opener to reverse because it has too much force applied it can do damage to a vehicle or objects in the garage. Also I have seen garage door openers that have the up force maxed out and with the max force it is possible for some openers to open a relatively light weight garage door with a broken spring and since you don’t have any counterbalance all the pressure and weight of the door is being opened by the opener and this puts maximum strain on the internal gears and parts in your garage door opener unit. The first thing you will have to do to adjust the force settings is to locate the control panel in most Liftmaster Chamberlain models it will be directly on the backside of the opener unit or it will be behind a light cover which you will have to pull down one or both light covers to identify the control panel there is a small wire or called an antenna for the remotes and if you follow that antenna it will bring you to the control panel that contains the upforce & downforce adjustments. Since there are two different ways to adjust the force limits I have separated them because one way to adjust on most models is manually and some newer models from Liftmaster Chamberlain the force limits are set automatically when you set or adjust the open and close limits on the opener. If you have an opener that sets the up and down force automatically then you do not have to worry about putting too much force because the opener automatically knows exactly how much force to use on any different particular garage door.

Manual open and close force are for these model numbers:

adjust the open and close force

First to adjust the open and close force you will need to find a flathead screwdriver the smaller the screwdriver the better some bigger flat head screw drivers will not fit in the small slots that you use to turn the dial up or down. You will also want to have a handheld remote close by because you are probably going to be on a ladder to make these adjustments and having a handheld remote makes it easier so you do not have to go up and down the ladder and use the wall button to activate the opener. Once you have located the control panel that contains the two force adjustment screws or dials you should start by opening and closing your garage door with your handheld remote. Now look on the control panel for the 2 adjustments screws in most cases they are blue in color and it usually will say force right below them or above them and there are two because one is for the open force and one is for the closing force. There will be an up arrow on the left screw and a down arrow on the right screw this represents the upforce or downforce. the screws also have the numbers 1,3,7 and 9 around the adjustment screws d normal setting for either open or closed for S should be somewhere between 1 and 5. You will use the flat head screwdriver to turn the screws clockwise for increase and counterclockwise for decrease. Here is how you would get the perfect force adjustment for the upforce and downforce. You will need to have your hand held remote and you will need to stand directly outside the garage door and make sure it is in the up position. Activate the opener with your remote and when the garage door is about halfway down you will need to try and stop the door by grabbing it from the bottom and if the door stops and reverses direction without much pressure from yourself then you should have a good close force adjustment. To check the up force then close the door completely then activate the opener to open the garage door and when the door is halfway up grab the bottom of the door and try to keep it from opening if the door stops and starts clicking and flashing its lights at you and it was not very difficult to keep from opening then you should have the right open force setting. If you have found it difficult to stop your door from opening and closing then you will need to go back to the control panel and make adjustments in small increments and whether it was hard to stop the door opening then you would go to the up force screw on the left and turn it counterclockwise until you can easily stop the door from going up. This procedure also is the same for adjusting the downforce. If you see that one or both of your adjustment screws are turned all the way up or close to it then you will need to find out if there is a problem with the garage door itself. If you are installing a Liftmaster Chamberlain opener yourself then they come from the factory with the force screws all the way to the number one position which is the least amount of force. If you just finished installing the opener and you activate it and the opener opens and closes the garage door easily with no problem then do not adjust the force settings at all because you want it to operate with the least amount of force possible for your particular garage door. If the new opener is having trouble either opening or closing the garage door then turn either the up dial or the down dial in small increments until the opener will properly open and close the garage door all the way without stopping.

Automatic open and close force adjustment model numbers:

3800, 3800, 3800C, 3800E, 3800P, 3800PC, 3800PLD, 3840, 3850,3885, 8587, 8360, 3255, 3265-3267,

These opener models that use the automatic force adjustments you will need to go through the open and closed limit adjustments and once you have done that then you will need to open the door once and then close the door once and this is what the opener uses to automatically set the force limits and it will use just enough open or close force to properly operate the garage door it will not use anymore or any less. Here is the procedure to set the open and close limit and also the open and close force for these model numbers.

First you are going to need to have your handheld remote handy 2 adjust the force limits. If you have not set the travel limits then you will need to set those first before you set the force limits. Once you have set the travel limits then proceed to Step 1.

Step 1.

You should start with your garage door in the open position. On the control panel you will see a purple and a black button to set the open and close force you will just need to push the purple button. To activate force adjustment mode on the unit you will need to push the purple button twice and the yellow LED light will flash rapidly.

Step 2.

Now you will need to push the button on your handheld remote that activates the opener and then the door will close and travel to the down position. Once the garage door is fully closed you will then need to hit the button on your remote and the door will travel to the up position once the door is all the way up then you will need to hit the button on your remote once again so the door will again go to the down position and when it is all the way down the yellow LED light should stop flashing and if it does that means that the force adjustments have been accepted by the unit. If you’re opener does not properly close or open the garage door then you should pull on the emergency release cord and try opening and closing the garage door manually to see if it is sticking or binding when you open and close it. If the garage door is unusually heavy then you might have a balance problem with your spring system.

Q: How to adjust the open & close limits?

A: the open and close limit on any garage door opener is the point that you set so the opener will know where to stop on the way down and where to stop so that the garage door is all the way open. There are several different ways that Liftmaster Chamberlain products use to set the open and close limits one way is manually with a screwdriver and the other two ways are set by pushing buttons on the control panel to move the garage door up and down and the brand new line of Chamberlain Liftmaster openers that have the MyQ technology are even a little different to set.

Opener model Numbers that are adjusted manually:

run garage door one complete cycle

Before you set the open and close limits you should first run your garage door through one complete cycle push either the remote button or the wall control button and let the door open and then close if the door does not open or close completely or the door does not stay closed or it hits the ground and goes back up then you most likely need to adjust the open and close limits if you are installing an opener yourself that you bought at a retail hardware store and you need to set the open and close limits for the first time then you most likely will not have to run the door through a cycle because they almost never open and close and then stop where they are supposed to do when they are new out of the box. First you will need to have a ladder and then you will need a flat head screwdriver and if you have a handheld remote it makes it a lot easier also if you do not have a remote then it would be easier to have someone help you so they can push the wall control button so you do not have to go up and down the ladder several times to complete this procedure. Any time that you make an adjustment you should run the garage door through a full cycle that means once up and then once down. These open air units come with a safety feature that will shut off the unit if the motor gets too hot from constantly running during the open/close limit settings. If the opener unit does shut down on you and stops working do not be alarmed just wait about 15 or 20 minutes and let it cool off a bit and then it will start working again. When you are making these adjustments at any time if the garage door stops or goes back up on the downward travel then you might have an unbalanced or binding or sticking door.

open and close limit adjustment screws

The first thing you will need to do is locate the open and close limit adjustment screws they are either on the side of the opener unit or behind one of the light covers you will have to pull down the light cover if you cannot visibly see the adjustment screws they should be easy to find they are two plastic white screws usually with a picture of a garage door with an down arrow on one side for the down limit adjustment and on the other side would Be a picture of a garage door with an up arrow to represent the up limit adjustment screw there will also be two circular arrows in the middle showing you which way to turn the screw for increasing the down limit or increasing the up limit. If your garage door does not open all the way then you will need to turn the right adjustment screw clockwise until it opens up just enough to where you can see the very top of your garage door opening that should be your limit that means that any tall vehicles will hit the top of the door opening before it hits the garage door. This procedure is the same for the down limit. When you are setting the down limit you want to make sure not to put too much limit turns on the screw because the door will go all the way down and then come back up unintentionally. The rule of thumb for the adjustment screws equals one full turn is 2 inches or 5 centimeters of travel distance. This is something you should keep in mind when you are turning the adjustment screws because if you have way too much travel you could sometimes do damage to your garage door or the opener unit. You also will want to have enough pressure when the door is in the down position to keep it snug to the opening so that it does not blow around when in high wind areas.

The Difference between AC & DC garage door opener units:

when it comes to AC motors and DC motors they both do the same job they turn electricity into mechanical power. But they are both very different they are constructed differently from each other and they also use different ways to control the electricity to the motor also. A.C. stands for alternating current and D.C. stands for direct current. D.C. Motors are usually found in appliances that are operated by a battery like a power drill or even a radio controlled car toy. A.C. Motors are built very tough and rugged and made to have long life expectancy with very little if any maintenance as A.C . Motors do need some maintenance to last a long periods of time. The only way to control the speed on an AC motor is to control the amount of electricity that is flowing to it the more electricity the faster it will spin. As for a DC motor you can have the max amount of voltage to the motor and then you would have to have some kind of trigger or dial to control the amount of electricity to the motor the easiest way to give an example of this is a variable speed drill the harder you pull on the trigger the faster the drill will spin or you can just press halfway and get a half speed. The reason for DC motors in garage door openers is because they are easier to control with all the new technology that is coming out with these garage door openers the way they are engineered now it is easier for the computer control board in the garage door opener to use all of the new features that they offer now like backup battery systems and automatic pressure and speed control. If a garage door opener needs to operate during a power outage and needs to use the backup battery to operate the motor then it is a lot easier with a DC motor as opposed to an A.C. motor. Another advantage to having a D.C. motor engineered into a garage door opener is they are considerably smaller in size than an A.C. motor. This allows the garage door manufacturers to either design a smaller Motorhead or fit more components into the original Motorhead box and get more features out of the garage door opener. If your garage door opener has a battery backup system for power outages then it most definitely will have a D.C .motor one reason is because you can’t fit a backup battery into a conventional motor head with a A.C. motor because of its bulky size. And also in my 15 years on the job I have replaced far more DC motors and I have AC motors. Most DC motors used with brushes and these brushes are used to transfer electricity to the motor and the brushes are a big part of the maintenance to a DC motor because they have to be replaced every 5 to 10 years depending on how often you use the DC motor. Also I in the past few years they have engineered a DC motor that does not use brushes so it lasts as long as an AC motor and very low maintenance so the technology is getting better and better every day. It won’t be long before ac motors become obsolete in garage door openers in the future. When it comes to DC powered garage door openers I think the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to Engineering garage door openers.

lifting power of a garage door opener

When it comes to the lifting power of a garage door opener the only thing considered is the size and weight of your garage door. The weight of a garage door depends on what material its made of. Doors made of wood construction will always weigh more than a steel door. One big misconceptions about steel garage doors is that they are made out of aluminum. There are doors constructed of aluminum but they are not common in residential garage door market. Commercial applications is where aluminum doors are more common. Steel garage doors are made of sheet metal sometimes as thick as a business card. And believe it or not in the 50’s they even made garage doors out of fiberglass.

Here is a breakdown on power and size and weight of garage door.

⅓ HP Openers: Any single size steel garage door 10×7 or less. Also some wood doors that are less than 1.5 inches thick. As far as double car garage doors 16×7 or less ⅓ hp. can be sufficient as long as the door is a basic pan door with no insulation or 3 layer construction or steel back. Most garage door opener manufactures are starting to phase out thair ⅓ hp openers

½ HP Openers: Any 16×7 or smaller steel garage doors with 3 layer steel back or less. Also sufficient for wood doors 1.5 inches thick or less. Will also work on most single size 10×7 or less wood carriage style garage doors.

¾ HP Openers: Sufficient for any of the types of doors that the ⅓ or ½ hp. openers work with. ¾ hp units are made for larger heavier garage doors. Should be used with any garage door larger than 16 ft. wide and 7ft. Unless the door is a non insulated standard basic pan door. Even oversized garage doors that are non insulated can still be operated with a ½ Hp opener unit unless it is over 10 ft. tall.

Different installation processes for Liftmaster/Chamberlain and Craftsman opener units.

When it comes to installing Liftmaster Chamberlain and Craftsman garage door openers there are three different ways to install them the first is the most simple and easiest installation process and that is lift masters 3800 series of jack shaft wall mount openers the reason for this simplicity in installation is that these garage door openers do not have a rail system they are mounted on the wall at the upper left or upper right hand side of your garage door they are engineered to attach directly to the torsion pull and do not have a rail system or any chains or belts or screws to attach to the opener in order for it to operate so therefore the only process with the 3800 series is to mounted on the wall and then run your safety sensor wires and that is pretty much it except for force and limit adjustments and remote programing. The other two processes for installing standard garage door openers are the following if you have purchased any Liftmaster or Chamberlain product at a retail hardware store then they come with what is known as a 5-piece rail system they use this 5-piece rail system so that they can fit the whole rail into the box that the opener comes in. The other rail system that openers come from the manufacturer with is a professional grade opener which you can only buy at a garage door supply warehouse and is made for professionals only and the difference is the rail for these types of openers whether it is chain belt or screw drive will come in a nine foot long square box and the whole rail system is already assembled and the rail is all one solid piece and there is no assembling of the rail for the chain and belt or screw rail. The most common types of openers with a 5-piece rail assembly are usually any opener that has Chamberlain on the box or craftsman or power drive brands will all usually use a five piece rail assembly system and if the opener says Liftmaster on the box it is most likely comes with a one piece solid T- rail. So when it comes to the five piece rail system that you have to assemble yourself with a do it yourself opener kit then here are a few pointers that you probably will not find in the instructions. The first thing you should know is that when you are assembling the rail and you have all the rail pieces together in the right place then you will have to bend the metal tabs on each piece of the rail 5 in total and when you have to bend these tabs in you should use a hammer and a center punch if you do not have a center punch then a sturdy very short screwdriver will do just fine. The main thing that you want to be sure of is that when you are assembling derail you are doing it on a level flat surface like the concrete floor in your garage if you try to do it on a curved driveway or even on your lawn then the whale can have some slight curves or bends in it from not being on a level surface when the tabs. Also do not forget that there are tabs on both sides of the rail do not forget to do both sides.

5-piece rail system

Also on a 5-piece rail system don’t forget to slide the trolley on the rail before you start to assemble the chain or belt because you will have to take a few things off if you forget to put the trolley on the rail at the right time. Also the trolley will need to be at the front of the rail do not slide it halfway on or all the way towards the motor head because it will cause all kinds of problems and you will have to reset that trolley where it is at the front this is because the first time that you activate the opener it is going to open first not close. Also if you are assembling a chain or belt drive opener put the chain or belt through the slot in the front of the opener well before you attach the pulley because if you try to squeeze it in after it usually does not fit. These are just a few things that I can think of that you should be careful of when you are assembling a do-it-yourself garage door opener. Now if you are assembling a solid T rail that most the garage door companies use then it is as simple as mounting the rail to the opener head and tightening down the chain or belt to specs and a screw drive rail system is even easier because there is no chain or belt to tighten. If you are going to install an opener yourself then I would try to stay away from screw drive openers they are a little bit more difficult to assemble. Now there is one more dilemma that may came up when you are installing a opener yourself some garages have a support beam that is anywhere from 829 feet back from the garage door opening and if you goto hang the opener and it does not fit in that 8-9 foot area and when you lift up the motor head to mount the opener to the ceiling and the motor head hits that beam and does not fit then you will have to shorten the rail to make it fit inside that bean but you can not shorten it too much or the garage door will not open all the way I do not suggest that you try to do this unless you are very mechanically inclined and good with power tools.

already assembled the opener unit? – here is what u need to do…

The easiest way to prevent this problem after you have already assembled the opener unit you should attach the anchor bracket at the front of the open a real and get a tape measure and measure exactly from the front anchor bracket all the way to the very back of the motor head and once you get that measurement write it down and then you should measure the area from the header above your garage door will you you will mount the front of the opener all the way back to the support mean and if your measurement is shorter than the full length of the opener and rail then it is probably not going to fit so what you will need to do is figure out what the difference in the measurements are and once you have that number that is how much you will need to cut off of the opener rail. You should never try to shorten the opener rail by cutting off the amount you need from the front of the rail where it mounts to the wall above your garage door this will not work and you will have to start all over and probably purchase a new rail. You should always trim off excess rail in the back where it mounts to the motor head. I have never tried to shorten an open door rail with anything but a belt drive opener because it is far too difficult to shorten a chain or screw drive rail. To avoid any of this hassle it might be a good idea to determine whether you have a support beam in your garage and it is close to the back of the garage door track. If you know that you are going to have to shorten the opener rail before you even purchase a opener unit at a retail hardware store this will save you a huge amount of hassle. The reason that I used belt drive openers to shorten and open the unit is because when you shorten the rail you must also shorten the belt or else it will not work unless you are shortening the rail only an inch or two. And even then you could still have a problem because the belt might not tighten up all the way like it should be. These are just a few things you should think about before you tackle installing an opener yourself.